The present invention relates generally to foam overlays applied to elongated structural components in motor vehicles, and more specifically to a door check link seal embodied as a foam overlay that is installed without adhesives or separate fasteners.
The assembly of a motor vehicle is a complex process involving the coordination of parts installation and various treatments and coatings applied at various stages of assembly. Typical early steps in the assembly process include joining metal frame and body parts. Some component parts of the final vehicle such as foam or rubber parts cannot withstand environmental conditions occurring during the processing of the frame and body. For example, the painting process requires passing the frame and body parts through an oven where the elevated temperatures would destroy foam or rubber materials.
Foam or rubber materials are often used for various overlay components that are applied over another structure. These soft overlays may include gaskets, seals, sleeves, liners, collars, and sheathings, for example. Another assembly problem arises when the structure to be overlaid is an elongated structure that has no accessible end after it has been assembled to the vehicle. Without an accessible end, the overlay cannot be passed over the end for insertion on the elongated structure. An example is a door check link which is connected on one side to a door frame or hinge and on the other side to the inside of a door. The check link passes through a hole in the door and moves in and out within the hole during opening and closing of the door. The hole must be big enough to accommodate a changing angle of the door check link during operation. The open hole can have the undesirable side effect of allowing outside noise to enter the passenger cabin when the vehicle is driven. Therefore, a seal is normally applied on the door check link which substantially seals off the hole when the door is in its closed position. If a soft foam or rubber material is used for the seal, then it cannot be installed until after the door check link has been attached at both ends, otherwise the seal would be damaged in the paint oven. Thus, a two piece seal is conventionally installed onto the door check link using adhesives or other fasteners. It would be desirable to install the seal without use of adhesives or additional fasteners.